With the background village completed, (well I’ll likely still make some adjustments), I turned my attention to the ground and how I would hook it. My first thought was that I wanted it to be round stones to offset all the squares and rectangles of the archway. On the other hand if it was all circles, I’d have a lot of ‘grout’ or ‘cement’ filler to deal with. So I settled on ’round-ish’ . Rather than cobblestones, I think it is more flag ‘stone-ish’ . I took a soft pencil and sketched it in , soon deciding that it would be even less round than this. I’d “wing it” as I went along.
Next decision was what colour? I had dyed some gold/grey for the arch and subsequently discarded it, and considered perhaps using that…..
….and just as quickly threw out that idea…..far too strong. I wanted something light and with some interest, but not attracting attention away from the women or the arch. Hmmmm….that’s exactly what I had wanted for the buildings….and….I had lots of very pale tints left over….
That’s what I’d try. Now what would I use for the grout. I suddenly remembered the wool I had dyed to whip my Grumpy Owl.
Yarn would be much easier to handle than tiny strips ….and I had some left over.
To my delight, I soon realized that it was 2 ply and for the small further away sections, it could be easily separated to make the grout line even tinier.
…and for the nearer stones, I’d use the 2 strands for a bit more depth.
Finishing this should keep me occupied in my spare time over the holidays.
Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas, filled with peace, joy, and beautiful memories.
Thanks for stopping by.
Many thanks again to my son Scott and his wife, for the use of their 5th wheel, bringing it to the site, and setting it up etc. etc. etc.
….enjoy the surrounding area….
….the neighbours…..two retired clydesdales….
…..and celebrated Ray’s birthday with Baxter on the patio of a restaurant in Fenelon Falls (they even made sure Baxter had his own bowl of water).
I came home rested and renewed and ready to get back to hooking (and blogging) when my computer crashed and had to go away for a new hard drive.
The bottom right ‘flame’ bothered me and it took awhile to figure out why….it was paler than the others since I had only used one row of the darkest pink,it was a bit too small…and it lacked the pizazz I wanted…..a simple fix once I figured it out. (I’ve just started adding to it here)
I’m heading off now to finish that section….
I manage the large rug by draping it over the bed…..keeps it off the floor, and it’s easy to manage. The prerequisite hooking mess is conveniently kept on my bedside table.
…..and a glimpse of the finished Grumpy Owl….now hanging proudly in the hall.
For rugs intended to hang on the wall, I often just turn the edges under . I like the ‘tapestry’ effect it creates. However, sometimes that doesn’t work and Grumpy is a case in point. The bottom of Grumpy is hooked vertically, while the upper background is hooked horizontally. I don’t think the blank edges would look good because of that. I don’t want a border, or a prominent whipped edge, so I’m doing a very small whipped edge with no binding tape on the back.
….secured it loosely so it wouldn’t turn into a rat’s nest in the pan….and spot dyed it with the same colours as the top and a second skein with the greys for the bottom.
….and now it blends nicely with the background sky.
I measured and drew a line 1.5″ from the edges of the hooking, and zigzagged around the rug just inside the line.
I cut off the excess right along my pencil line……
and clipped the edge back(using my faithful red quilting clips….so much batter than pins) gently leaving just enough backing showing that it wouldn’t pull the end loops over. (this is what will determine how wide the whipping will be and I want mine as small as possible).
It is hardly visible from the top….
….but makes a nicely finished view on the side.
When finished I will turn under the raw edge , steam it, and slip stitch it in place. As you can imagine, this is a slow process, so I alternate between whipping and working on ‘Oil on Water’.
The hooking now covers about 42″ x 32″. It’s getting harder already for me to hang it up with clamps for viewing.
My first project for the new year is to complete Grumpy Owl. Long ago, (several months at least) I stopped hooking the head feathers when I realized that the shading was dark to light on the left, and the opposite way on the right. While I debated how to deal with that, I finished other areas. Now I could no longer put it off.
My solution? Let them meet in the middle, with light wool on both sides of the merging feathers. (the jury is still out on this solution).
Just a reminder….the original is a dot work drawing done by my talented son Mathieu and therefore doesn’t have the detail of a hooked piece. I thought it was a fence, and had tried out a version using the same technique as I had done on the side of my barn. BUT….when last home, Mathieu told me that he hadn’t intended it to be a fence at all….hmmmmm…..what to do? When in doubt….wait and ponder.
I switched to an #8 cut and started hooking a rocky perch for Grumpy.
….or one of the Beehive, Townsend, or Ault type….
…..you will probably have experienced cutting your wool when the guide is not set exactly correctly, and ended up with that first strip the wrong size…..
In this case the first strip was wider than an 8. Rather than adjust the wool guide, I left it, and those wider strips are just perfect for filling in the slightly larger spaces.
Here you can see how (upper right of the ‘rock’) the extra wide piece fits nicely between the black, and a smaller strip will fit neatly into the small space just to its left. It’s slow going, but for me the result is worth it. The talons are unimpeded, and the rock face is going in the right direction.
It is now framed and hanging in my front hall.
I completed a number of small projects….
….so it is finally complete….
Since this photo was taken, I’ve finished the background and done some reworking of the moon.
….it is whiter, with more clouds and fewer “squiggles”and there may well be further adjustments to it.
